Current Issue : January - March Volume : 2016 Issue Number : 1 Articles : 5 Articles
We have previously demonstrated that semimature dendritic cell- (smDC-) based immunotherapy is effective for the treatment of\ncollagen-induced arthritis (CIA) prior to disease onset. In the present study, we examined the efficacy of combination therapy\nwith smDCs and methotrexate (MTX) in advanced CIA with a score of 2-3. Combination therapy with low-dose MTX and\ntype II collagen- (CII-) pulsed smDCs (CII-smDCs) was more effective in inhibiting disease progression than high or low-dose\nMTX alone or a combination of high dose MTX and CII-smDCs. The effect of CII-smDCs alone was also comparable to the\ncombination therapy. CD4+Foxp3+ Treg populations and IL-10 secretion markedly increased, and CII-specific autoreactive T cells\ndecreased in mice treated with CII-smDCs alone or in combination with MTX. Combination therapy reduced the secretion of\ninterferon-...
Hospitalized patients require the use of a variety of drugs, many of which\nindividually or in combination have the potential to cause kidney damage. The use of\npotentially nephrotoxic drugs is often unavoidable, and the need for dose adjustment\nshould be evaluated. This study is aimed at assessing concordance in information on\ndrug-induced nephrotoxicity and dose adjustment recommendations by comparing four\ndrug information sources (DRUGDEXÃ?®, UpToDateÃ?®, MedscapeÃ?® and the Brazilian\nTherapeutic Formulary) using the formulary of a Brazilian public hospital. A total of\n218 drugs were investigated. The global Fleissââ?¬â?¢ kappa coefficient was 0.265 for\nnephrotoxicity (p < 0.001; CI 95%, 0.211ââ?¬â??0.319) and 0.346 for recommendations\n(p < 0.001; CI 95%, 0.292ââ?¬â??0.401), indicating fair concordance among the sources.\nAnti-infectives and anti-hypertensives were the main drugs cited as nephrotoxic by the different sources. There were no clear definitions for qualitative data or quantitative values\nfor dose adjustments among the four information sources. There was no advice for dosing\nfor a large number of the drugs in the international databases. The National Therapeutic\nFormulary offered imprecise dose adjustment recommendations for many nephrotoxic\ndrugs. Discrepancies among information sources may have a clinical impact on patient care\nand contribute to drug-related morbidity and mortality....
The primary focus of this study was to highlight the impact of magnetite particles on systemic circulation. Magnetite which is a magnetic component used in magnetic targeted system composition, revealed absorption and its appearance in systemic circulation showcased through changes in the heamogram. Tablet dosage form based on the magnetic drug delivery concepts was developed successfully using model drug candidate imatinibmesylate, which is an anticancer drug. Certain magnetic system suitability parameters were focused and evaluated in the present research work to validate the magnetic system comprising oral tablets. Drug release patterns were also found to have impact of polymers and magnet which are in-vitro component used in the system. The cancer therapy is prolonged therapy, one time dosage of magnetite may show recovery from changed heamogram and heamolysis data but continued absorption of magnetite even though coated with suitable polymer after long term use may create dysfunctioning of normal body mechanisms either after release of coat or even if coat remains for years long, accumulation of magnetite in body system may be harmful. So ultimately the present study indicates that long term safety of magnetic drug delivery system cannot be predicted even though magnetic drug delivery tablet system for oral use was successfully validated and developed....
The knowledge of the radiation dose received by the patient during the radiological examination is essential to\nprevent risks of exposures. The aim of this work is to study patient doses for common diagnostic radiographic\nexaminations in hospitals affiliated to Kashan University of Medical sciences, Iran. The results of this survey are\ncompared with those published by some national and international values. Entrance surface dose (ESD) was\nmeasured based on the exposure parameters used for the actual examination and effective dose (ED) was\ncalculated by use of conversion coefficients calculated by Monte Carlo methods. The mean entrance surface dose\nand effective dose for examinations of the chest (PA, Lat), abdomen (AP), pelvis (AP), lumbar spine (AP, Lat)\nand skull (AP, Lat) are 0.37, 0.99, 2.01, 1.76, 2.18, 5.36, 1.39 and 1.01 mGy, and 0.04, 0.1, 0.28, 0,28, 0.23, 0.13,\n0.01 and 0.01 mSv, respectively. The ESDs and EDs reported in this study, except for examinations of the chest,\nare generally lower than comparable reference dose values published in the literature. On the basis of the results\nobtained in this study can conclude that use of newer equipment and use of the proper radiological parameter can\nsignificantly reduce the absorbed dose. It is recommended that radiological parameter in chest examinations be\nrevised....
Background: A previous meta-analysis found that high dose zinc acetate lozenges reduced the duration of common\ncolds by 42%, whereas low zinc doses had no effect. Lozenges are dissolved in the pharyngeal region, thus there might\nbe some difference in the effect of zinc lozenges on the duration of respiratory symptoms in the pharyngeal region\ncompared with the nasal region. The objective of this study was to determine whether zinc acetate lozenges have\ndifferent effects on the duration of common cold symptoms originating from different anatomical regions.\nMethods: We analyzed three randomized trials on zinc acetate lozenges for the common cold administering zinc in\ndoses of 80ââ?¬â??92 mg/day. All three trials reported the effect of zinc on seven respiratory symptoms, and three systemic\nsymptoms. We pooled the effects of zinc lozenges for each symptom and calculated point estimates and 95%\nconfidence intervals (95% CI).\nResults: Zinc acetate lozenges shortened the duration of nasal discharge by 34% (95% CI: 17% to 51%), nasal\ncongestion by 37% (15% to 58%), sneezing by 22% (âË?â??1% to 45%), scratchy throat by 33% (8% to 59%), sore\nthroat by 18% (âË?â??10% to 46%), hoarseness by 43% (3% to 83%), and cough by 46% (28% to 64%). Zinc\nlozenges shortened the duration of muscle ache by 54% (18% to 89%), but there was no difference in the\nduration of headache and fever.\nConclusions: The effect of zinc acetate lozenges on cold symptoms may be associated with the local availability of\nzinc from the lozenges, with the levels being highest in the pharyngeal region. However our findings indicate that the\neffects of zinc ions are not limited to the pharyngeal region. There is no indication that the effect of zinc lozenges on\nnasal symptoms is less than the effect on the symptoms of the pharyngeal region, which is more exposed to released\nzinc ions.\nGiven that the adverse effects of zinc in the three trials were minor, zinc acetate lozenges releasing zinc ions at doses\nof about 80 mg/day may be a useful treatment for the common cold, started within 24 hours, for a time period of less\nthan two weeks....
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